8 lessons learned from successful entrepreneurs

Tim Westergren: Founder, Pandora
Tim Westergren: Founder, Pandora

Tim Westergren: Founder, Pandora

“Be sure to ‘notice’ ideas when you have them. Stop.
Take the time to consider them seriously. And if your gut tells you they’re compelling, be fearless in their pursuit.”

Jimmy Wales: Founder, Wikipedia
Jimmy Wales: Founder, Wikipedia

Jimmy Wales: Founder, Wikipedia

“Whether it is a change of job, or an entrepreneurial dream, the less you NEED to spend each month, the easier it is to follow those dreams.”

Bill Ready: CEO, Braintree
Bill Ready: CEO, Braintree

Bill Ready: CEO, Braintree

“Back in the late 1990s when I was a 19-year-old engineer at Netzee–much like other bright, young, ‘hot-shot’ engineers today–I had this sense that I knew everything, and I didn’t realize the importance of really listening to those who were more experienced. What I have realized since then, is that one of the most important things you can do is to surround yourself with great people, and to listen to them.”

Alexander Ljung: CEO, SoundCloud
Alexander Ljung: CEO, SoundCloud

Alexander Ljung: CEO, SoundCloud

“It’s not about building every feature or understanding everything the first time around. It’s about creating the best, tailored experience for your community and company. I’d remind myself of the importance to leverage design as a decisive advantage and to not be afraid to challenge people to break down their knowledge into easily digestible, clearer statements.”

Bing Gordon: Chief Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers
Bing Gordon: Chief Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers

Bing Gordon: Chief Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers

“The number one piece of advice I would share is to recruit a mentor. Find someone you admire who is at least one generation older, and has no direct authority over you. Lack of context and perspective can cost you months and years–with a bad career choice, an unwise relocation, short-term negotiating posture, and, generally speaking, sophomoric thinking.”

Philippe Courtot: CEO/ Chairman, Qualys
Philippe Courtot: CEO/ Chairman, Qualys

Philippe Courtot: CEO/ Chairman, Qualys

“If I had one piece of advice to give my younger self it would be to stop doing what makes you unhappy and focus on what makes you truly happy. This philosophy, strongly advocated by the Dalai Lama, seems simplistic but its power lies in the fact that it forces you to reflect on what is really important to you and not be distracted by what other people think.”

Paul Bennett: Chief Creative Officer, IDEO
Paul Bennett: Chief Creative Officer, IDEO

Paul Bennett: Chief Creative Officer, IDEO

“For most of my twenties I assumed that the world was more interested in me than I was in it, so I spent most of my time talking, usually in a quite uninformed way, about whatever I thought, rushing to be clever, thinking about what I was going to say to someone rather than listening to what they were saying to me. Slowing oneself down, engaging rather than endlessly debating and really taking the time to hear and learn is the greatest luxury of becoming older.”

Scott Weiss: Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
Scott Weiss: Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

Scott Weiss: Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

“Your happiness is at the intersection of your passions and learning from great people. Working at a big company sucks–avoid it. Smaller companies are 10 times better for learning. Be generous with your time and money–it has an amazingly fast payback. Be in the moment with everyone you love–and this frequently means tuning out work completely. And drive slow in parking lots.”

EXECS AND INVESTORS FROM PANDORA, IDEO, ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ, SOUNDCLOUD, AND KLEINER PERKINS, AMONG OTHER MASTERS OF DISRUPTION, SHARE THE WISDOM THEY’VE GATHERED ON THE WAY TO THE TOP.

Looking at the success trajectories of today’s disruptors–from Pandora cofounder Tim Westergren to Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales–it’s easy to think that they had everything figured out from a young age. But many of today’s success stories learned lessons later in life that they wished they had known as they were beginning their careers. The eight investors and entrepreneurs below share the advice they wish they had gotten in their early twenties.

Tim Westergren: Avoid the risk of not trying and the regret of wishing you had.
Tim Westergren, the founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Pandora, said if he could offer his younger self one piece of advice, it would be to realize from an early age that it’s far more haunting to live with the regret of having not followed your instincts–even when those instincts required a diversion from the beaten path–than to have followed your gut and failed. Luckily for Westergren, he was one of the few who did follow his passions and that pursuit led him to found a company with a market cap of $2.5 billion.

“Be sure to ‘notice’ ideas when you have them. Stop. Take the time to consider them seriously. And if your gut tells you they’re compelling, be fearless in their pursuit,” Westergren said. “For most people, the idea of chasing a personal passion or being entrepreneurial is simply something they don’t think of themselves doing. We’re so programmed to walk well-trodden paths. But, we live life only once. So, rather than avoiding the risk of trying, avoid the risk of not trying. Nothing is more haunting than thinking, ‘I wish I had…’.”

Jimmy Wales: Spend wisely early in life so you can achieve the financial independence to follow your dreams.
Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia–which according to its own Wikipedia page is a collaboratively edited online encyclopedia–said the advice he would share with the younger generation is to be strategic and thoughtful with expenses at an early age so that you can afford to pursue your passions.

“I think one of the things that most 21-year-old people should do is to recognize now that you can make life choices which control your expenses, and that controlling your expenses is one of the most crucial steps toward the kind of financial independence that you need in order to follow your dreams in the future. Whether it is a change of job, or an entrepreneurial dream, the less you NEED to spend each month, the easier it is to follow those dreams. There are several rules of thumb that can help with this, but one of my favorites is to never go into debt to finance any kind of luxurious consumption. Only go into debt if necessary for some kind of investment, like student loans, for example.”

Bill Ready: Surround yourself with great people and be fearless in pursuit of game-changing ideas.
Bill Ready, the CEO of Braintree–the mobile payments platform for online and mobile commerce that counts companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Fab as clients–shared two key pieces of advice that he wish he had known when he was younger.

“There are two main things I wish I had known when I was 21,” Ready said. “Back in the late 1990s when I was a 19-year-old engineer at Netzee–much like other bright, young, ‘hot-shot’ engineers today–I had this sense that I knew everything, and I didn’t realize the importance of really listening to those who were more experienced. What I have realized since then, is that one of the most important things you can do is to surround yourself with great people, and to listen to them. The second piece of advice I would give is to be fearless. Don’t be afraid to pursue revolutionary ideas, and don’t hold back simply because you’re going up against seemingly unconquerable competitors in your market space. At Braintree, many of our competitors are huge, established companies in the market with market caps in the billions–but we’re not afraid of going after them.”

Alexander Ljung: Realize the power of simplicity.
Alexander Ljung, the cofounder and CEO of SoundCloud–the popular audio platform that has raised more than $63 million in venture funding, according to CrunchBase–shared the importance of learning the power of simplicity in today’s complex world.

“In recent years, T.S. Eliot’s reported quote–‘If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter’–has stuck with me when making numerous decisions specifically around leadership, design, and product. The advice I would offer my 21-year-old self is to remember that it takes more mental (and sometimes physical) bandwidth to create something simple or communicate something complicated in basic terms, but ultimately, that’s a lot nicer for the user experience,” Ljung said. “It’s not about building every feature or understanding everything the first time around. It’s about creating the best, tailored experience for your community and company. I’d remind myself of the importance to leverage design as a decisive advantage and to not be afraid to challenge people to break down their knowledge into easily digestible, clearer statements.”

Philippe Courtot: Focus on what makes you truly happy.
Philippe Courtot, the CEO and Chairman of Qualys–the enterprise cloud security firm that went public last year–emphasized the importance of doing what makes you happy; pursuing what actually makes you happy ensures that you’ll put the needed energy, time, and resources behind your work.

“If I had one piece of advice to give my younger self it would be to stop doing what makes you unhappy and focus on what makes you truly happy,” Courtot shared. “This philosophy, strongly advocated by the Dalai Lama, seems simplistic but its power lies in the fact that it forces you to reflect on what is really important to you and not be distracted by what other people think. If I could give myself one more advice it would be to not be afraid of trying. This builds on the first piece of advice, as we can only learn what makes us happy or unhappy through our own experiences.”

Bing Gordon: Work as hard as you can, and then work harder.
Bing Gordon, a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers–who counts Twitter, Spotify, and Path in his portfolio of investments–was frank in his advice. Ultimately, hard work is what is going to make you successful. That, and the added benefit of having an influential mentor to help guide you on the path to success, is the combination that will get you to where you want to go.

“I’ve always regretted that I didn’t start working in business until I was 28 years old,” Gordon shared. “After decades of hiring college grads, I’ve learned that the people who get the most opportunities also start fast. They overachieve from the very beginning. They ask the best questions and always seem to have good ideas. As one Hollywood producer once said, ‘Work as hard as you can and then work harder.’ But the number one piece of advice I would share is to recruit a mentor. Find someone you admire who is at least one generation older, and has no direct authority over you. Lack of context and perspective can cost you months and years–with a bad career choice, an unwise relocation, short-term negotiating posture, and, generally speaking, sophomoric thinking. Jeff Brenzel, Dean of Admissions at Yale, has the best advice on how to recruit a mentor: ‘All professors desire acolytes; so carry their favorite book of theirs under your arm, and go introduce yourself with a question about their book.’”

Paul Bennett: Take the time to listen.
Paul Bennett, the Chief Creative Officer at IDEO–the highly creative global design consultancy that has done work for clients from Samsung to GE–said the one piece of advice he wished he had known in his early twenties, was to focus on listening rather than rushing to come up with a quick, yet uninformed, response.

“Listen more,” Bennett advised. “For most of my twenties I assumed that the world was more interested in me than I was in it, so I spent most of my time talking, usually in a quite uninformed way, about whatever I thought, rushing to be clever, thinking about what I was going to say to someone rather than listening to what they were saying to me. Slowing oneself down, engaging rather than endlessly debating and really taking the time to hear and learn is the greatest luxury of becoming older.”

Scott Weiss: Surround yourself with leaders in your field.
Scott Weiss, a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz–who counts Platfora, Quirky, and Skout in his portfolio–emphasized the importance of learning in the workplace, and pointed out that smaller companies are great places to learn and grow.

“Whatever vocation you decide on, track down the best people in the world at doing it and surround yourself with them. Aim high and be ridiculously persistent. Your happiness is at the intersection of your passions and learning from great people. Working at a big company sucks–avoid it. Smaller companies are 10 times better for learning. Be generous with your time and money–it has an amazingly fast payback. Be in the moment with everyone you love–and this frequently means tuning out work completely. And drive slow in parking lots.”

93 Comments

  1. I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
    I don’t know who you are but certainly you’re going to a famous
    blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!

  2. Thanks for any other fantastic article. Where
    else may just anyone get that type of info in such an ideal method of writing?
    I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am on the look for
    such info.

  3. whoah this blog is excellent i really like studying your articles.
    Stay up the good work! You realize, lots of people are looking round for this info, you can aid them greatly.

  4. Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed!
    Extremely helpful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for
    such information a lot. I was looking for this particular
    information for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.

  5. I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you
    have hit the nail on the head. The problem is something not enough men and women are speaking intelligently about.
    Now i’m very happy that I stumbled across this during my hunt for something concerning this.

  6. Having read this I thought it was rather informative.

    I appreciate you finding the time and effort
    to put this article together. I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and commenting.

    But so what, it was still worth it!

  7. Hello, I believe your website could be having internet browser compatibility issues.
    Whenever I look at your website in Safari,
    it looks fine however, if opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues.
    I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Besides
    that, excellent website!

  8. Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It actually used to be a enjoyment account it.
    Look advanced to far brought agreeable from you! By the way, how can we be in contact?

  9. I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here.
    The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish.
    nonetheless, you command get bought an shakiness over that you wish be delivering the following.
    unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this
    hike.

  10. My brother suggested I might like this website. He was entirely right.
    This post truly made my day. You can not imagine just how much time I had spent for this info!
    Thanks!

  11. An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been doing a little
    research on this. And he actually bought me breakfast because I stumbled upon it for him…

    lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!!

    But yeah, thanks for spending the time to discuss this topic here on your
    web site.

  12. Its like you learn my mind! You appear to grasp so much approximately this,
    like you wrote the guide in it or something. I think that you can do with some % to drive the message
    home a bit, but instead of that, this is great blog. An excellent read.

    I’ll certainly be back.

  13. I’m curious to find out what blog system you’re utilizing?

    I’m having some small security issues with my latest website and I’d like to find
    something more safeguarded. Do you have any suggestions?

  14. Aw, this was an extremely good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to produce a very good article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and never seem to get nearly anything done.

  15. What’s up everyone, it’s my first visit at this website, and
    article is in fact fruitful designed for me, keep up posting these types of articles.

  16. Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe this website needs
    far more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the information!

  17. Hi, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.

    When I look at your blog in Opera, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
    I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
    Other then that, fantastic blog!

  18. Hi there everyone, it’s my first pay a quick visit at this web
    page, and paragraph is genuinely fruitful in support of me, keep up posting these content.

  19. I’ve been surfing online more than three hours
    today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content
    as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  20. Hello are using WordPress for your site platform?

    I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any html coding expertise to make your own blog?
    Any help would be really appreciated!

  21. Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored to tears at work
    so I decided to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break.
    I love the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
    I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my phone ..
    I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, amazing
    site!

  22. Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the
    web the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked
    while people think about worries that they plainly do not know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole
    thing without having side effect , people can take a signal.
    Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

  23. Superb blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost
    on everything. Would you recommend starting with a
    free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally
    overwhelmed .. Any recommendations? Thanks a lot!

  24. I know this web page gives quality dependent articles and extra data, is there any other site
    which presents these kinds of information in quality?

  25. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed
    reading it, you can be a great author. I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will often come back from
    now on. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great writing, have a nice evening!

  26. It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy.
    I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things or advice.
    Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this
    article. I wish to read more things about it!

  27. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that
    I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed
    and I hope you write again soon!

  28. Link exchange is nothing else except it is just placing the other person’s blog link on your page
    at proper place and other person will also do similar in favor of you.

  29. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find
    this topic to be actually something which I think I would never understand.
    It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next
    post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

  30. Spot on with this write-up, I truly believe this website needs
    a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read
    through more, thanks for the information!

  31. Just desire to say your article is as astounding. The clarity for your publish is just great and that
    i could think you are an expert in this subject. Fine with your permission let me to clutch
    your feed to keep updated with imminent post.
    Thanks one million and please carry on the gratifying work.

  32. It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy.
    I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you
    few interesting things or tips. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article.
    I desire to read more things about it!

  33. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article author for your site.

    You have some really great articles and I believe I would
    be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some
    content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
    Please blast me an e-mail if interested. Thank you!

  34. Yesterday, while I was at work, my cousin stole my
    apple ipad and tested to see if it can survive a 40 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad
    is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but
    I had to share it with someone!

  35. Hey exceptional website! Does running a blog such as this take a massive amount
    work? I have no understanding of computer programming but I
    was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways, if you have any recommendations or techniques for new blog owners please share.
    I know this is off subject but I simply wanted to ask.
    Thanks a lot!

  36. Today, I went to the beach front with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old
    daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed
    the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it
    pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely
    off topic but I had to tell someone!

  37. Hello very nice website!! Guy .. Excellent ..
    Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also?
    I’m happy to find a lot of useful info here in the put up, we’d like develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing.

    . . . . .

  38. My brother recommended I might like this blog. He was entirely
    right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t
    imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  39. It is appropriate time to make a few plans for the longer term and it’s time to be happy.
    I have read this post and if I may I wish to recommend you some fascinating issues or advice.
    Maybe you could write subsequent articles relating to this article.
    I wish to learn even more issues about it!

  40. Hi! I’ve been following your website for a while now and finally
    got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from
    Porter Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the excellent
    work!

  41. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be
    honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come
    back later on. Many thanks

  42. I think that what you said made a great deal of sense. However, what about this?
    what if you composed a catchier title? I mean, I don’t
    wish to tell you how to run your blog, however suppose you added something
    that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean 8 lessons learned from
    successful entrepreneurs – Pinlovely is kinda vanilla.
    You might look at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they
    create post titles to grab viewers interested. You might add a related video or a pic or two to get readers
    excited about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it could bring your
    posts a little livelier.

  43. Howdy! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give
    a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading your blog posts.
    Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same
    subjects? Thanks a lot!

  44. Howdy! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform
    are you using for this website? I’m getting tired of
    Wordpress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform.
    I would be awesome if you could point me in the
    direction of a good platform.

  45. Nice post. I was checking constantly this weblog
    and I’m inspired! Extremely useful info specifically the remaining section 🙂 I
    take care of such info much. I was looking for this particular info for a long time.
    Thank you and good luck.

  46. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know
    so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you could do with some pics to
    drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is great blog.
    A great read. I’ll certainly be back.

  47. Great goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely great.
    I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it.
    You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it sensible.
    I cant wait to read much more from you. This is really a great web site.

  48. Wow, incredible blog format! How lengthy have you been blogging for?
    you make blogging glance easy. The total look of your
    site is magnificent, as smartly as the content material!
    You can see similar here sklep internetowy

  49. With havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright infringement?
    My blog has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet
    without my authorization. Do you know any techniques to help reduce content from being stolen? I’d genuinely appreciate it.

    I saw similar here: Sklep

  50. Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization?
    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not
    seeing very good gains. If you know of any please share.
    Kudos! You can read similar text here: Sklep internetowy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *